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Over the past several months, mortgage rates have hovered below 4 percent despite an improving economy that many might have otherwise expected to lead to declining home affordability. That activity was certainly a trend that continued through the end of August, extending current homeowners and would-be buyers alike an opportunity to lock in a near-historically good deal on their home loans, but experts also caution the trend isn't likely to last much longer.

There are many moving parts during the home sales process that can be difficult for many first-timers to navigate. However, striving to learn as much as possible about the process - and all the tertiary issues that come with it - is vital to getting through it successfully. With this in mind, it may be particularly important to learn a little bit about title insurance, what it does, and how it can be a big relief in certain cases.

Experts repeatedly warned consumers that mortgage rates were supposed to rise slowly but surely over the course of 2017, to levels not seen in the housing market in some time. After all, rates in the 3 percent range were an historical anomaly, and were never going to last forever. However, even after a spike in rates seen in late 2016 and into the first few months of the new year, rates have continued to sink back toward lower levels.

Over the past few years, one of the biggest issues housing market experts have cited when it comes to relatively slow sales numbers has been the lack of millennial participation in the homebuying process. However, that has begun to change more recently, with young adults exhibiting massive demand for homes but not actually being able to buy them.

The improving economy has put a lot of would-be homebuyers in a position to get into the market over the past few years, and today's extreme demand for listed homes highlights that effectively. However, it's worth noting that lenders haven't loosened their standards as much as some might expect given the economic recovery over the past few years, and there are plenty of reasons why that might be the case.

Title insurance is one of those things many would-be homeowners will hear about at some point in the homebuying process but not necessarily know what it means or, perhaps more importantly, how much it will cost. However, like many types of insurance, it's often a type of coverage that homeowners - and even lenders - can benefit from significantly in case improbable, unfortunate situations arise as it relates to the titles on their properties.

For years, many young adults have been held on the sidelines of the housing market thanks to stringent lender requirements and, often, personal financial obstacles that were difficult to overcome. However, those conditions are starting to ease, as lenders are now more accepting of a broader range of would-be borrowers, and the improving economy is putting more people in a position to buy, even as other forces may act as deterrents.

It might come as a surprise to many would-be buyers currently sitting on the sidelines of today's housing market, but the savings opportunities available to them now are probably among the best they can expect to encounter for some time to come. However, it is perhaps also understandable why any potential shopper might be a little hesitant to get into the market given the conditions they've faced in recent months.

Over the past year, lenders have slowly but surely loosened the restrictions on purchase mortgage restrictions, which they've held historically tight for about a decade. This comes both as the economy continues to recover (leading to higher pay and lower unemployment) and mortgage rates rise, making buyers a much greater force in the mortgage market than current owners looking to refinance. And with more buyers necessarily comes greater risk, but the general consensus is that risk has been so low for so long that this is just the market getting back to normal.

Many pair first-time homebuying with family planning, and recent data showed the first addition to the house could be a dog bed instead of a cradle. According to a Harris Poll on behalf of SunTrust Mortgage, 33 percent of millennials purchasing first homes want better space or a yard for their dogs to run around. That share trumped marriage (25 percent) and the birth of a child (19 percent).